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A new study by researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looks at the effect of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising on spending for prescription drugs. The study found that, on average, a 10% increase in DTC advertising of drugs within a therapeutic drug class resulted in a 1% increase in sales of the drugs in that class.
Medicare Part D is a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare provided through private plans, including stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage. This analysis provides an overview of Medicare Part D plan availability, premiums, and cost sharing in 2025 and key trends over time.
This issue brief describes recent trends in the number of Medicaid outpatient prescriptions and the spending on those drugs and examines how the pandemic and pandemic-era policies may have impacted those trends.
Changes to the Medicare Part D benefit in the Inflation Reduction Act will mean lower out-of-pocket costs for Part D enrollees but higher costs for Part D plans overall, leading to concerns about possible premium increases. These FAQs provide context for understanding Part D premiums in 2025 and changes in recent years, and describe actions the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking to mitigate potential premium increases.
Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans rarely cover GLP-1 drugs approved solely for obesity treatment, according to a an analysis of 2024 federal plan data.
More than two years ago President Biden signed into law Medicare drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. KFF's September Health Tracking Poll examines voter's views on these provisions and finds that large majorities of voters are unaware of the provisions despite reporting support for them.
Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of older Americans remains broadly popular across partisans, though many voters are unaware of the new law and the billions of dollars it is expected to save in 2026, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds.
This brief examines the share of Medicare beneficiaries who reviewed their coverage and compared plans during the open enrollment period for 2022 (that takes place in the Fall of 2021), and who made use of Medicare’s official information resources, as well as variations by demographic groups. Overall, nearly 7 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries did not compare their own source of Medicare coverage with other Medicare options offered in their area.
This slideshow captures key data from the 2024 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey survey, providing a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing, abortion coverage, offer rates, wellness programs, and other employer practices.
This brief focuses on the stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan marketplace and its somewhat uncertain future, in light of recent trends in plan availability and the potential for another year of premium increases in 2026, in part depending on what the Trump administration decides to do with the temporary Part D premium stabilization demonstration. The brief explains why the stability of the PDP market matters, both for people in traditional Medicare who want prescription drug coverage but also for the viability of traditional Medicare as an option vis a vis Medicare Advantage.
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